The blurred lines in social media slang | Article 2017

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Social media slang such as ‘lol’, ‘fml’ and ‘bae’ were only just the beginning of the rise in social media slang. Yet, now we’re taking an even more effortless approach to our online media.

Have we become so lazy that we’ve reduced to single-letter slang? Or is seen as another convenience in reducing time spent communicating?

Recently taken to the social media stage is that of ‘Q’ and ‘q’, both aligning with many different definitions and interpretations.

Lowercase ‘q’ can mean ‘question’ or “cheeky tongue emoji”, whilst uppercase ‘Q’ can mean ‘question’ also, as well as ‘thanks’ or ‘thank you’.

Social media is becoming increasingly more complex each and every second of the day, so why make it even harder to comprehend?

As we all know, the acronyms and slang in their longevity start to become words of everyday use, some even making it into the dictionary.

But what happens when we start using ‘Q’ in our everyday language, such as in a professional environment, communicating with business professionals and potential employers?

There’s no doubt that the rise of social media is the way of the future, but if it’s slang continues to rise with it, the structure of the english language could fall by the wayside.

On the other hand, the english language has become to adopt some acronyms and slang rather than letting them overtake it, with acronyms such as ‘Lol’ making it into the Oxford dictionary.

Whether this is because of it’s extensive use rather than convenience and purpose, this is still a significant sign that social media is driving our generation and future ones to come.

Although the dictionary may set a specific “definition” for our slang, it will never be so clear-cut. Online goers will continue to use slang in their own ways, not clarifying meanings or making sense at all.

Social media slang is like an inside-joke shared between friends while everyone else that witnesses is left questioning their own existence.

However the rise in slang seems inevitable, with a new acronym or phrase circling the globe within just hours.

Let’s just hope that we don’t all start communicating via single letters – 24 letters in the English alphabet doesn’t allow for too many meanings…